Their combat has been laced with prickly barbs, hoping somebody draws first blood before the engines get revved up Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

It's all in the spirit of gamesmanship leading up to one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history. Only three points separate Edwards and Stewart, with Edwards in first. The only sure way Edwards can win his first Cup title is by winning the race. Any other scenario opens things up for Stewart, who is trying to win the third overall championship of his career.

That means NASCAR's "boys have at it" rules of engagement are very much in play, from the vocalsniping that went down during a news conference Thursday, all the way through the very last lap on Sunday.

A few memorable snippets:

Stewart: "I'll wreck my mom to win a championship. I'll wreck your mom to win a championship," Stewart told a reporter who asked him if he would have any qualms about forcibly nudging Edwards out of the way on the final lap.

Stewart: "This is a war. This is a battle. It's no holds barred this weekend."

Edwards: "He has the talking part figured out. Problem is, you haven't led the points yet this year, have you?"

Stewart: "You know there are talkers and doers. I've done this twice."

Edwards: "That will make it more fun to beat you. Don't think for a second that either one of us is going to let anything slide."

Stewart: "It's like Kid Rock said; 'It's not cocky if you back it up,'"

Bravo, boys, bravo.

With sincerest apologies to Jimmie Johnson, it's remarkably refreshing to embrace a storyline that has nothing to do with Johnson's five-year run that obliterated anyone else chasing a championship.

A short-list of 12 contenders has been whittled down to two Sunday for the Ford 400. Stewart has come on in a blaze, winning four of the 10 Chase playoff races, and two of the last three. Edwards is the resilient veteran who has stayed ahead of Stewart with strong finishes. But can he hang on one more time?

Stewart is downright giddy about where he stands. And he's going all out trying to get into Edwards' head to try to get him rattled.

Johnson did the same thing to Denny Hamlin a year ago, when Hamlin came in as the points leader. Hamlin wilted days before the race, allowing Johnson to zip by him for his fifth title.

Not so sure this is going to work with Edwards, who seems to have embraced Stewart's barbs with a bit of pop psychology.

"If that helps him, that's fine," Edwards said. "I know just enough about psychology that a lot of times people talk about things and they project things. I've watched him really close, I really have. I think we're in a great position."

"You're lying if you are saying there's no pressure after 10 weeks of being up there trying to win your first championship," Stewart said.